3 Enforcement CVSA Updates ELD Inspection Bulletin… Repeat ELD Offenders – How Will CVSA Roadside For The Benefit of AllInspectors & FMCSA Handle Them? The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance’s out-of- service (OOS) criteria advises State and Canadian Provincial roadside inspectors to place a driver OOS for 10 consecutive hours at the inspection location if that driver is found to be operating without an ELD, when one is required. This CVSA OOS provision, and several others related to ELD use, went into effect on April 1, 2018. In this scenario, after a driver completes the 10-hour off-duty OOS period, the driver is allowed to complete the trip on which he/she is currently dispatched. Both CVSA and FMCSA have made clear, however, that the carrier may not legally dispatch this driver again until the truck being operated is equipped with a compliant ELD. This raises an interesting question: what happens if this same Some also questioned whether this might be a theoretical concern driver is discovered during a subsequent roadside inspection that wouldn’t play out in reality. An FMCSA representative reacted (in the same State or in a different State/Province) to again be to the proposal by stating that the Agency is planning to regularly operating without an ELD? generate internal reports to determine whether there are repeat ELD This question about ‘repeat ELD offenders’ was the subject of offenders. If discovered, the carriers would be placed at or near the an interesting discussion/debate at CVSA’s recent Spring 2018 top of FMCSA’s on-site compliance review list. This FMCSA official conference and workshop in Portland, OR. also encouraged State and Provincial officials to communicate directly with FMCSA officials when repeat ELD offenders are Currently, there is no additional OOS provision for repeat ELD discovered during roadside inspections, which will also help FMCSA offenders, and some believe there should be. At the Portland prioritize ELD non-compliant carriers for on-site interventions, conference, representatives from two states pushed for an potential civil penalties, and perhaps even criminal investigations. amendment to the OOS criteria that would require repeat ELD offenders to remain at the inspection location until a compliant ELD Following the lively and interesting discussion, the Chairman of the is installed in the truck. These State representatives argued that, committee (where the proposal was raised) tabled the proposal. In without this type of additional OOS provision, repeat offenders could tabling it, he requested that the FMCSA representative bring data to continue to be dispatched and, if inspected, they would simply serve the next CVSA meeting in September 2018 reflecting (1) the number the mandatory 10-hour OOS period, and continue to operate until of repeat ELD offenders identified by FMCSA, and (2) the number they were inspected again. In effect, these State officials argued that of carriers prioritized for compliance audits based on the data. The the only way to change the non-compliant ELD behavior of repeat FMCSA official agreed to do so. This data will likely drive another offenders (drivers and carriers) is to force the on-site installation of discussion of the proposal in September, and could result in change an ELD. in the ELD portion of the OOS criteria. If FMCSA’s internal monitoring and reports find that repeat ELD offenders are a significant problem, Some in the meeting supported the idea as a means to change CVSA action before September is possible. behavior and get more immediate ELD compliance. Few in the meeting spoke directly against the idea, but rather raised questions about the practicality of having ELDs installed on-site, the likely challenges the driver would face if an installation could not be completed in a reasonable amount of time (e.g., within 24 hours), and whether repeat offenders are better addressed during compliance audits. 13